The mystical tradition of Sufism is little known outside the Muslim faith, yet all people, regardless of religious background or inclination, can benefit from its methods for developing unity in one's body, mind and spirit.
A rare opportunity to learn firsthand about Sufism comes this month and next when Sufi Sheik Ingo Taleb Rashid returns to Japan to conduct workshops in Tokyo, Kamakura and Utsunomiya.
Sufism has long enriched Islam, with Sufi masters serving as guides toward achieving oneness with God. Its principles and techniques are, however, universally applicable.
Elements of Sufism are shared by mystical traditions throughout the world, including Zen Buddhism, the Jewish Cabala, the Christian desert mystics and Japan's Yamabushi mountain ascetics.
Ingo Taleb Rashid is designated guardian and leader of the centuries-old Naqshbandi-Rashidiya Sufi tradition, emanating from Iraq, and director of the El Haddawi Center for Harmonious Development of Mankind, Munich, Germany. A dancer, choreographer and creator of MOCO, or Movement Concept, a system of body training based in Sufi music and movement technique, he travels to Japan annually to teach.
Workshops will focus on the theme "Dervish Ways of the Body." Participants will be introduced to sacred body movement, chanting and the synergy of movement, voice and breath for composing "Sufi mind."
An outdoor workshop featuring a long walk through the hills of Kamakura and ending at the beach will explore the Sufi attitude toward nature.